Casinos on cruise ships have offered slot machines, table games, and more, but sports betting has generally not been part of the offering.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) used to offer limited sports betting on some ships before the pandemic, but it was generally just win/loss bets against the line on big games (and it does not appear to have been brought back).
Enter Carnival Corp. (CCL) and MGM Resorts International's BetMGM (MGM), which on June 17 said they'd partnered to offer retail and mobile sports betting and iGaming on Carnival cruises.
"We’re very proud to be able to deliver the excitement and engagement of sports betting and iGaming to our guests through our partnership with BetMGM," Marty Goldman, vice president of global casino operations for Carnival, said in a statement.
"Our two leading global hospitality organizations will provide a wide array of immersive digital content as a complement to our exceptional shipboard casinos.”
Image source: Carnival.
Carnival and MGM Make a Big Bet
Under the agreement, Carnival ships will feature BetMGM-branded digital and cash-based betting options. It will also offer cash-based, and digital real-money, gaming options on-board U.S.-branded ships in international waters.
Once the ships reach international waters, gambling does not face the same stringent regulations that govern casinos on land in the U.S.
According to maritime law, international waters start about 12 miles off the coast of any host country.
“We’ve found an ideal partner in Carnival Corp. and look forward to providing our sports betting and iGaming products to its millions of passengers,” BetMGM Chief Executive Adam Greenblatt said. “This is another great opportunity for us to further expand BetMGM’s footprint.”
This is BetMGM's first venture on the open seas but it won't be its last.
Carnival's Princess Cruises offered sports betting through Ocean Sportsbook, but BetMGM will be replacing that cruise line's mobile and kiosk offerings.
Cruise Line Continues the Sports Betting Revolution
Business in the sports gambling industry has been good.
Sports betting accounts for between 30% and 40% of the worldwide gambling market, producing a yield (the money casinos receive from bettors minus the payout) higher than $400 billion in 2021, according to Statista.
In June 2018, sports gamblers wagered $310 million for the month. In October 2021, that number jumped to $7 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Online gambling is starting to catch up, too.
Goldman Sachs predicts the online sports gambling market could reach $39 billion in annual revenue by 2033, up from less than $1 billion in 2021, as more gamblers turn to the online option instead of placing bets through retail options.
The global sports-betting market is expected to increase by $106.25 billion between 2020 and 2025, a compounded annual growth rate of 10%, according to a recent market study by Technavio.
The sector in the U.S. is growing exponentially as well. In 2021, legalized sports gambling in the U.S. doubled to more than $52.7 billion, according to a Morning Consult report.
Nearly 20% of U.S. adults 21 and older said they bet on sports at least once a month, including online wagering, according to a December survey. That number was up 80% from January 2021.
